The most recent available complete data relating to criminal appeals is for the year 2016.436 The appeals studied in this thesis, however, are from the time
period 2006 to 2010. Data is available for this time period from a number of different sources.437 In 2016, 1.5 million cases were received by the magistrates’
court system.438 Of these, 326000 were either-way offences; 32000 were
indictable only offences; 562000 were summary motoring offences; 539000 were summary offences; and 68000 were for breaches of orders.439 In 2010, 1.7 million
cases were received by the magistrates’ court.440 The combined number of
indictable and triable either-way offences was 410000; 590000 were summary motoring offences; 546000 were summary only offences; 117000 were breaches; and 131000 were youth proceedings.441
436 All statistics are taken from the tables contained in Criminal Court Statistics: October to
December 2016 (main tables) available from https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal- court-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2016 (accessed 19/06/2017).
437 See Court Statistics Quarterly January – March 2012 main tables. Available from
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/court-statistics-quarterly-earlier-editions-in-the-series (accessed 19/06/2017). 438 2016 data, table M1. 439 ibid. 440 2010 data, table 3.1. 441 ibid.
96
In 2016, 116000 cases were received by the Crown Court system.442 46000
related to either-way offences; 27000 were indictable only offences; 31000 were committals for sentence; and 10000 were appeals from magistrates’ court decisions.443 In 2010 the Crown Court received 152000 cases, of which 63000
were triable either-way offences; 34000 were indictable only offences; 41000 were committals for sentence; and there were 13000 appeals from magistrates’ courts.444
The most recent available full year statistics on conviction rates in the Crown Court are from 2015.445 These show that in 2015 93000 individual defendants
were tried (109000 in 2010).446 Of these, 64000 pleaded guilty to all counts
(76000 in 2010). Of those who pleaded not guilty in the Crown Court, 12000 individuals were convicted in 2015. The following Table shows the number of individual defendants convicted in a Crown Court following a not guilty plea in the period 2007 to 2015, thus encompassing part of the period under analysis in this thesis.447
442 2016 data, table C1. 443 ibid.
444 ibid.
445 See Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly January to March 2016. 446 ibid, table AC6.
97
Table 4.1: Number of defendants convicted in a Crown Court following not guilty plea 2007-2015. Year Number 2007 11073 2008 11137 2009 11252 2010 11957 2011 12275 2011 12490 2013 11518 2014 11121 2015 12106
It will be seen that the number has remained fairly static. Out of a total of more than 1.5 million criminal cases, therefore, only a small proportion of defendants are convicted of the most serious crimes in the Crown Court following a not guilty plea. As will be discussed further below, only a small proportion of these will apply for permission to appeal their convictions.
There is further data available for the number of persons convicted of the offence of rape between 2006 and 2010. In 2013, the Home Office produced a statistical bulletin on sexual offending.448 The statistics break down the offence of rape into
several categories. Firstly, rape is divided into rape of a male and rape of a female.449 Secondly, there is rape of a female over the age of 16 charged as
rape under section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and rape of a child under the age of 13, (charged as rape under section 5). The statistics also show section 1 rape of a child aged under 16 (but presumably 13 or over). There is no separate offence of rape for this category; it would be charged under section 1.450 These
same categories are provided for rape of a male. The data also shows attempts
448 An Overview of Sexual Offending in England and Wales (Home Office, Ministry of Justice
2013).
449 ibid, Sexual Offending Overview Tables, table 4.1. 450 ibid, see glossary.
98
of these offences. The following Table reproduces the data relating to the number of persons convicted of these kinds of rape against a female.451 As they are not
considered in this thesis, attempts are omitted. This Table includes persons who either pleaded guilty or who were convicted.
Table 4.2: Persons convicted of rape of a female 2006 - 2010.
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Under 13 85 91 141 143 167
13 – under 16 219 236 241 273 271
16 or over 384 375 382 413 445
Total 688 702 764 829 883
The following Table shows the same data for persons convicted of these categories of rape against a male. The total number of persons convicted of an offence of rape between 2006 and 2010 is shown in Table 4.4. These Tables include persons who either pleaded guilty or who were convicted.
Table 4.3: Persons convicted of rape of a male 2006 - 2010.
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Under 13 32 37 33 28 46 13 – under 16 15 23 14 15 17 16 or over 20 16 12 14 14 Total 67 76 59 57 77
Table 4.4: Total number of persons convicted of rape 2006 – 2010.
Year 2006 2007 2007 2009 2010
Number 755 778 823 886 960
99
This thesis has included the age of the complainant in a rape appeal and the deceased in a murder appeal as independent variables. These above age categories are used as the ages for the independent variables. There is an additional variable for those aged 16 and 17, and so who are still considered children. This has the benefit that the variables used for rape are mapped onto the Sexual Offences Act 2003. However, this does mean that these age categories, specifically designed for rape, are imposed onto murder appeals. The specific decisions relating to the coding of the murder and rape appeals are returned to and analysed in Chapter 6.
Statistics are also available for the number of persons convicted of murder between 2006 and 2010.452 The following Table reproduces this data. This Table
includes persons who either pleaded guilty or who were convicted.
Table 4.5: Number of persons convicted of murder 2006 – 2010.
Year Number 2006 358 2007 315 2008 328 2009 267 2010 141
Those who have been convicted in a Crown Court have an entitlement to seek ‘leave’ (permission) from the Court of Appeal to appeal against the conviction. As was shown above, approximately 11000 - 12000 persons are convicted each year in a Crown Court following a not guilty plea. Whilst defendants who pleaded guilty can, and do, occasionally appeal their convictions, it is relatively rare for those who pleaded guilty to do so. As is discussed below, appeals following a guilty plea are unlikely to be successful.
452 Data collected from Homicides, Firearm Offences, and Intimate Violence 2009-10
100
An appellant who wishes to appeal must lodge an application to the Court which will initially be decided by a single High Court judge. The single judge can either grant leave, or refuse leave. If leave is refused, it can be renewed before a Full Court which will decide whether to grant leave. Table 4.6 shows the number of applications for permission to appeal against conviction received per year between 2006 and 2010; the number of applications granted by the single judge; the number of failed applications renewed; and the number of applications granted by the Full Court.453
Table 4.6: Applications received 2006 – 2010.
Year Applications Granted
Single judge Renewed Applications Granted By Full Court 2006 1595 291 481 137 2007 1508 288 520 125 2007 1588 212 400 146 2009 1435 275 477 117 2010 1488 242 370 148
A number of observations can be made about this Table. Most applications are declined by the single judge – fewer than 20% of applications are granted permission by the single judge. Of the unsuccessful applicants who decide to renew their applications, the chances of being granted permission by the Full Court are slightly improved. There has also been a steadily declining number of applications received by the Court, and this continues to the present day. In the 12 months ending October 2016, the Court of Appeal received 1417 applications for permission to appeal against conviction.454
The method of permission being granted are independent variables in this thesis. In particular, whether the case is heard following permission by the single judge,
453 Data extracted from Court Statistics Quarterly January to March 2014 table 5.7. 454 In the Court of Appeal Criminal Division Annual report 2015-16 (2017) 27.
101
the Full Court, or the CCRC. This variable relates to the institutional position of the Court of Appeal, and how the processes of the Court function.
The above Table highlighted statistics relating to the permission to appeal process in the Court of Appeal. Table 1.1 in Chapter 1 compared the number of cases heard per year between 2006 and 2010 with the number of combined murder and rape appeals per year. This is reproduced here as Table 4.7.
Table 4.7: Comparison of overall Court of Appeal workload and murder and rape workload (2006-2010). 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Totals Sampled Appeals 120 91 66 91 104 472 Overall workload 572 523 438 430 496 2459 % workload in sample 20.9 17.3 15.0 21.1 20.9 19.1
Since 2010, the number of cases heard by the Court of Appeal has declined significantly. In 2016 the Court heard only 260 appeals against conviction.455
These data relating to the appeals heard between 2006 and 2010 are returned to in Chapter 7.
The criminal justice statistics recounted in this section reveal a number of points. The Court of Appeal hears only a small fraction of all criminal cases. If the 11000 - 12000 defendants convicted in the Crown Court following a not guilty plea in 2016 is the most appropriate the denominator, and the 260 appeals heard in 2016 is the numerator, the Court heard 0.02% of cases within its jurisdiction. The Court’s role is much more significant qualitatively than quantitatively. This relates to, as explained in section 4.1, the role of the Court in ensuring that due process is adhered to, and its role in seeking to correct miscarriages of justice. Despite
102
its quantitatively small reach, the Court is a suitable body for empirical study owing to the importance of the Court qualitatively.